


Celestial Ciphers- Fourth Cipher: Collection of Comets

by SonjaJade



Series: Celestial Ciphers [4]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-25 11:30:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3808762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonjaJade/pseuds/SonjaJade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one shots and community pieces related to the universe built in the Celestial Ciphers series.</p><p>As with all my collections, each story will have individual headers so that readers can decide which ones they want to read.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. White Moon Shining

**Title:** White Moon Shining  
**Author/Artist:** Sonja Jade  
**Fandom:** Fullmetal Alchemist (mangaverse, Brotherhood)  
**Characters/Pairings:** Al/Mei, Ling/Lan Fan, tiny OCs  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters within this story based on the series Hiromu Arakawa  
**Summary/Teaser:** It’s their daughters’ first Xingese New Year celebration, and Mei’s absolutely positive that the coming year is sure to be one of her growing family’s best. (Part of my FMA Big Bang series- Celestial Ciphers)  
**Rating:** G  
**Word Count:** 629

 

As was expected of the second in command of Xing, Elric Alphonse, the Golden Dragon under Emperor Ling, stood on the Imperial Balcony to witness and assist Mei’s older brother and leader of their nation light a ceremonial rocket to herald the beginning of the week-long New Year celebration. She and Lan Fan stood off to the right, the Empress round and glowing with a third child as she held the toddling prince on her hip. Mei herself held one of the twin girls she’d birthed at the end of summer, while Al held the other as he stood beside Ling.

Ling was just finishing up his speech. “And so, with the lighting of this rocket, let the Xingese New Year festival begin!” He touched a lit straw to the end of a long wick, and he and Al backed away from the explosive. It caught as predicted, whooshed up into the cold night sky, and then burst with a boom, sprinkling the heavens with bright red and gold embers that glittered silver as they fell before burning out and leaving trails of smoke in their wake. The crowd below cheered loudly, and then more fireworks began, each prettier than the last.

Mei joined her husband and reached over to stroke Su’s cheek. “I worried they’d be scared, guess I was wrong,” she commented as the little girl waved her arms and grinned back at her. On her shoulder, Li cooed and gibbered at the pretty explosions overhead, drool streaming from her mouth and onto the soft cloth keeping her silks dry.

Al grinned at her. “Maybe they can sense how much enjoyment we’re getting out of it.”

She turned Li around so she could see her sister, and she immediately started reaching for her. Su turned her head at her sister’s cries, prompting Al to hold both of them to his chest.

The girls hooked their arms together on their father’s shoulder, watching the sky with similar expressions of awe and wonder. Mei felt him press a kiss to her temple.

“It’s going to be a great year for us,” he murmured. She could feel his _ki_ flexing lovingly against hers, their daughters’ energies too enthralled with the wonderment of the fireworks and the noise of the people below to notice.

Suddenly there was a click and a flash, and Mei looked over to find Ling smiling back at her, camera in hand.

“That’s going to be a great one to send home to Ed,” he said as he turned away. Ever since Mustang had finally provided three cameras, flash bulbs and innumerable rolls of film, Ling had taken it upon himself to document an entire year of daily life at the palace. Of course, many of the shots also made it to Resembool in letters to Mei’s brother-in-law, which was just fine with everyone.

The grand finale was just beginning, and Al wrapped his free arm around Mei’s waist as their heads turned skyward to watch it. She rested her head against his chest. “I wonder what blessings we’ll be afforded in this next year,” she mused aloud.

“A royal princess, for one,” he answered quietly, nodding toward Lan Fan. “Our girls will be sitting up and then crawling, then walking…” He looked down at her. “Maybe there’ll be another baby before this new year is out.”

She laughed, despite squeezing him. “With our luck it’ll be two again! Better wait ‘til Su and Li are out of diapers at least!”

He whispered in her ear, “Won’t stop us from practicing, right?”

Mei kissed him on the lips softly. “Of course not.”

“Then it’s going to be a fantastic year!” he said as the fireworks banged overhead, under the gaze of a shining white moon.

Mei agreed.


	2. A Change in Taste

**Title:** A Change in Taste  
 **Author:** Sonja Jade  
 **Series:** Brotherhood  
 **Word Count:** 568  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Characters:** Havoc/Rin (OC)  
 **Summary:**  His new life as an Amestrian ambassador has led to some very interesting changes in Havoc’s life.  
 **Warnings:** Post canon  
 **Author’s Notes:** part of my Celestial Ciphers series, but you don’t need to read that to get this.  
 **Prompt:** Havoc Day!

  
  
  
After living among the Xingese for over two years now, Jean figured he was fitting in just fine.  He spoke fluent Xingese (with barely an accent, the locals said!), he could unwrap his betrothed from her _zhiju_ robes just as easily as he could pop a bra off an Amestrian woman back home, and he even preferred their homemade wines and spirits to the sharp and flavorless whiskey and watery ales Amestris stocked their bars and pubs with.  But there were two very big differences that let him know he was more Xingese now than Amestrian, despite his appearance.  He’d given up cigarettes in exchange for the cannabis the Xingese favored, and he no longer thought huge tits were the bee’s knees.  
  
The first one had been a no brainer.  Cannabis was a more satisfying smoke, tasted somehow cleaner, grew freaking wild for free, though the more exotic strains did cost a pretty _Paisa_ or two.  The fact that every Xingese house was flanked by wild growing weeds of the stuff meant an never ending supply of it.  It was celebrated as a medicine, a safe recreational hobby, and as sacramental addition to every religious and spiritual event in Xing.  Giving up tobacco for cannabis was easy.  
  
And surprisingly enough, once he’d met Rin and learned to read _ki_ , he realized big boobs had absolutely nothing to do with what he really wanted out of a relationship.  Rin was so much smaller than him, but her heart was enormous.  Though her frame was firm and strong, her curves were few.  Her breasts were barely a handful, but she could bring him to his knees with her smile, or her laugh, or anything that literally nothing to do with her outward appearance.  
  
He lived with Rin in a small home in the Xingese capitol, right amongst the rest of the citizens of Shang-Po.  And coming home after a long day at the Amestrian embassy was a wonderful feeling, especially now when she carried their first child in her belly and he was never sure where she would grow that day.  
  
He opened the door and found her standing in the kitchen in her thinnest night shirt, a measuring tape around her chest and looking at the strange Xingese numerals.  She looked up at him with a big smile and he couldn’t help but grin back at her.  
  
“My bust grew a whole inch!”  
  
He shook his head, shutting the door.  “I told you, it doesn’t matter to me.”  
  
Rin shrugged.  “I know, but it still makes me happy that they’re getting bigger.”  
  
Havoc put his hand on her gently curving belly as he kissed her.  “I’d rather _she_ get bigger.  You’re perfect as you are.”  
  
Rin put the measuring tape aside and wrapped her arms around him.  “I love how good you make me feel about myself.”  
  
A wicked grin pulled at his lips.  “How about I just make you feel good for a little while.”  
  
“Isn’t that how we ended up expecting our little one in the first place?” she teased, her long lashes shielding her mischievous dark eyes.  
  
“Don’t the Xingese say ‘Time spent wandering among happy memories is never wasted’?”  
  
She giggled, tugging him backward toward their bedroom.  “And don’t the Amestrians say ‘Strike while the iron’s hot’?”  
  
The respective old sayings of their countries could wait.  Lovemaking absolutely could not be put off another moment.


	3. Utopia

**Title:** Utopia  
**Author:** Sonja Jade  
**Series:** Brotherhood  
**Word Count:** 635  
**Rating:** G  
**Characters:** Riza/Roy  
**Summary:** Riza takes a moment to enjoy the Xingese sunrise on their extended ~~vacation~~ business trip.  
**Author’s Notes:** Happy (belated) Birthday to missyquill! Part of my Celestial Ciphers universe, but readable on its own.

 

For the first time, maybe _ever_ , Riza felt like she could just breathe. No paperwork to get completed, no one to stand guard over (though that one never went totally away; her charges were just under great supervision at the moment), and she took a moment to simply enjoy her third Xingese sunrise at the Peony Palace.

She’d opened the slatted window and gazed out over the private royal gardens, green and glistening with dew. The royal gardeners were already out tending to the plants that needed regular pruning, ignoring the carp following them around the koi pond with their mouths popping up and begging for food. Off to the west of the manicured greenery stood a small home, Al’s westernized house that Ling had built with him in mind. It had been decorated in red luck symbols and light blue fertility charms. Riza smiled. She and Roy had come to watch him marry the little Xingese girl who’d saved her life on the Promised Day, and tomorrow was supposed to be the last day of their stay-at-home honeymoon that should result in the conception of their first child.

“I hope you’re blessed with many children,” she murmured as her eyes turned back toward the eastern side of the garden, watching the first rays of sunlight peek over the craggy mountain range that back right up to the southern wall of Shang-Po and the rear of the palace.

Behind her, Riza heard the sound of blankets stirring. A quick glance showed her a sleeping Roy Mustang turning over in the bed, one leg sticking out from the covers and his black hair sticking up in all directions. A shadow of stubble covered his jaw and chin and she couldn’t help a quiet snicker. If all her dreams came true, she would be marrying him and building a family with him, hopefully with lots of children and dogs, maybe a nice garden like the one she was watching come alive under the morning sun. And if they didn’t come true, hopefully they could be executed hand in hand.

For the moment, though, she was happy to be in a place that didn’t view their relationship as improper, where she was able to stay as many nights and days with Roy as she wanted without repercussion, and felt blessed that they still had two to three more weeks of this as they explored the country and made notes to take back to Amestris concerning the country that had been previously off limits to them.

Satisfied that the sun was up, Riza stretched and yawned, then turned back to the strange bed and carefully got back under the blankets that Roy seemed to make a total disaster of. No sooner had she gotten comfortable, his arm came around her and tugged her back into his chest.

“Can’t sleep without you,” he mumbled.

“Me either,” she said in reply, patting his hand as his thumb brushed back and forth against her tummy.

“I hope we’re blessed with many children, too.” He kissed the back of her neck and squeezed her a little tighter. “I don’t ever want to go home.”

“I know.”

“Can we stay?”

She nodded. “For a little while.”

“Good.”

Not long after that, he was snoring again. She couldn’t help but smile as she rolled over to snuggle into his chest. She understood completely why he wanted to stay, and couldn’t agree more. Riza resolved that they just had to make their lives in Amestris as good as their lives were right this minute in Xing.

Just before one of the palace staff came in with fresh tea and fruit, Riza dozed off, wrapped up in Roy’s arms and dreaming- dreaming of little boys and girls with blond and black hair, and Xingese shaped brown eyes.


	4. Hailstones and Seashells

**Title:** Hailstones and Seashells  
 **Author:** Sonja Jade  
 **Series:** Brotherhood  
 **Word Count:** 501  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Characters:** Olivier Armstrong, Miles (who got a promotion to Colonel!)  
 **Summary:** Gen. Armstrong gets to see a side of Drachma she never expected to behold.  
 **Warnings:** Post canon, about four-five years after Ed’s proposal.  
 **Author’s Notes:** Part of my Celestial Ciphers universe, but you don’t have to read that behemoth in order to get this.  For your convenience, you can reference **[this map](http://sonjajade.deviantart.com/art/Map-of-Xing-and-Surrounding-Nations-527231989)** for some clarification!  
 **Prompt:** Outside Amestris  
  
  
A Xingese cargo ship glided through the icy waters of the Polar Sea, on its way to a small island nation called Tywala.  And while the cold air and chilling sea spray wasn’t particularly pleasant, to a certain Amestrian General, the experience was exhilarating.  
  
“Where are we now?” Gen. Armstrong asked as she looked down at the map their captain had made for her.  
  
In heavily accented Amestrian, the stout Xingese helmsman answered, “We are coming around the last cape now, Amusutorongu-san.  The coastline is still Drachman land.”  
  
She nodded toward the rocky beaches in front of her.  “And how much longer until we reach Tywala?”  
  
“If the winds are good, seven hours.  If not, it could be as many as twelve.”  
  
Olivier waved him off and she was soon joined instead by Col. Miles.  He touched her arm with a hand gloved in a waterproof, fur lined, seal skin mitten.  “You seem at home on this frigid ocean.”  
  
She huffed through her nose, her eyes taking in the sight of Drachma’s shores.  “Maybe I was a pirate in my past life.”  
  
“Maybe it’s time to get out of that fort,” he suggested.  He nudged her gently, saying, “We could use a naval ambassador at the embassy.”  
  
“The border between Drachma and Amestris remains a hot spot for our country.  I’m not sure there’s anyone in this army with balls big enough to handle the challenge of keeping that battlement properly fortified.”  She grinned in spite of herself though and turned toward him, crossing her arms.  “I have to admit, however- after staring at Drachma’s face for twenty five years, it feels great to finally get a look at her big, fat, ass.”  
  
Miles couldn’t help a snicker at her comment.  “When you’re ready to come in out of the cold, there’s hot tea and dumplings.  Don’t linger too long, it’s easy to get pneumonia in these conditions, sir.”  
  
The general told him she would be in momentarily, gazing through toward the northern edges of her enemy.  It was disappointing that she would find this polar landscape so beautiful, considering her feelings toward that land’s inhabitants.  But it _was_ beautiful, and she wondered how many people on this outer rim of the country would even know if she stepped foot within their boundaries.  
  
Looking forward off the bow, Tywala had yet to emerge from the horizon.  She’d been told that between Tywala and its larger sister island Padua, there were over twelve thousand Drachman refugees fleeing the oppressive government.  Though she was on a special assignment for the Amestrian embassy in Xing, she certainly wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to question some of those defectors.  
  
Finally, she turned away from the greyness of it all and went below deck to warm up.  Absently she wondered if the place was as green as Briggs in the spring or if it was that gray all year round.  Once she had a cup of hot tea in hand, she forgot all about it.


	5. Forward! To the Past!

**Title:** Forward! To the Past!  
 **Author:** Sonja Jade  
 **Series:** Brotherhood  
 **Word Count:** 1,583  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Characters:** Ed, his niece  
 **Summary:** Many years after the Promised Day, Ed makes the journey back to Xerxes with an archeological research team to uncover the secrets of the people who lived there, and to remember how to live.  
 **Warnings:** Mentions of character death  
 **Author’s Notes:** Part of my Celestial Ciphers universe but you don’t have to read that monstrosity to get this.  Also no beta because NO TIME!  
 **Prompt:** October prompt: Future Fic  
  
 ****

  
When Edward arrived, he couldn’t believe how different Xerxes looked as compared to when he first saw his ancestral home.  On the outskirts of the ruins were hundreds of canvas tents, all flapping in the hot desert winds, in as many colors as the rainbow.  Scientists, archaeologists, and laborers milled around, some coming out of the excavation, some going in.

One thing however made quite the difference as compared to his last trek out here: he was riding in cool comfort in an Amestrian troop transport outfitted for desert travel- something the Ishvalans perfected and shared with their once hostile neighbors.  He felt his face break into a grin.  He couldn’t wait to get started- though he wasn’t exactly sure what he would get started on.

“Mr. Elric?” a spectacled young man asked.  “Are you sure you’ll be alright in these conditions?”

Ed laughed.  “I might be in my sixties, but I’ve got plenty of fire left in me!  I’ve been here before, I think I’ll manage.”

He was a student who was part of the antiquities department at the Armstrong University, and though Ed’s statement about his health didn’t seem to ease his mind any, he went back to double checking his back pack and left the subject alone.

The project at Xerxes had been in the works for a long time.  Ed and Al had given their blessing to the university when they asked, since it seemed they were the remaining two of a dying race, and at half Xerxian, that left them with more claim to the historical site than anyone else.  Xing and Drachma had both made donations to help fund the restoration and excavation, and hopefully open it back up as a historical tour with an added modern section meant for hotels and a small residential area, and possibly an off-campus archaeological department for the Armstrong University.

Ed was excited.

When the transport’s doors opened, he was reminded of his dear wife.  It was like opening the oven door when she was making pies and he was suddenly homesick.  It wouldn’t do him any good to go home, however.  Winry had been dead and gone for three years now.  His children would scold him for living in his memories and drinking away his pain, wasting what remained of his own life.  No, he was right where he belonged, and maybe the memory of that old wood stove’s oven was Winry’s way of letting him know she was with him now.

He took a deep breath.  He was ready for this, whatever ‘this’ was going to be.

“Uncle Ed!” he heard from across the small parking area.  His old eyes looked toward the sound and saw Al and Mei’s youngest daughter, Mina, waving and walking toward him.  He grabbed his ‘man purse’, as his sons called it, and waved back.  When the two of them met, Mina’s arms came around him and squeezed.

“I didn’t know you would be here, kiddo!” Ed said, closing his eyes as he embraced the young woman.  She was taller than her mother, but still tiny.  “How are you?”

She pulled back from him, smiling brightly despite her long black hair whipping in the hot wind and likely stinging her cheeks.  Her dark gold eyes looked like new coins peering out from underneath her sun hat.  “I’m having the time of my life!  I’m working in the slave’s quarters today- I requested it specifically because of Gramps- and we found something that I think may have actually been his!”

Now that was a surprise Ed hadn’t been expecting.  “How can you be sure?”

She grabbed his hand and started tugging him toward one of the tents.  “We discovered a room about two weeks ago that was filled with sand and rubble, and comparing our findings to the Rutanya site in Aerugo, we determined that it was likely the slave barracks.  Well, while sifting through the rubble, we started finding these metal bracelets.”  Mina paused her walking as her hands began to illustrate her words.

“It was the size of a postage stamp- well, a Xingese postage stamp, so about like this,” she showed him with her thumb and forefingers, a small rectangle about two inches by one inch.  “It had a name and a number stamped into it, and it had a length of chain on it.  The name was the slave owner, and the number referred to the slave.  We found one that said ‘23’ in the Xerxes glyphic text.  Ba-ba said Gramps told him the name of his slave owner once when he was still in the armor, and he couldn’t remember the whole name, but that it started with the letter ‘P’.  He said it was something like Parachute, and the bracelet we found has ‘Paracelsus’ on it!”

Ed watched as she hopped up and down excitedly, feeling a bit of relief in knowing that his father really hadn’t made up the whole crazy story of being over four hundred years old after all.  He knew at least parts of the story were true, but to find such an item in such a specific place from that specific time frame… it was very validating, and now Ed was starting to feel as excited as his niece.

“Can I see it?” he asked.

“Of course!” Mina nearly shrieked.  She grabbed his hand and they were off again, quickly walking past several rows of tent before reaching their destination.

Later that night, as he lay in his cot (which was more comfortable than a cot had any right to be), he let his mind wander among the memories of his father, the few good ones, that one big, bad one, and he thought about his brother, too.  Al had different memories of him, having met him in Liore before Ed had caught up to Hohenheim.  He thought about walking down to where the army had set up a telephone and calling up Xing to ask him to share some stories in a letter sometime, but his body was wrung out from the heat and now it was freezing; he didn’t feel like getting out of bed to make the journey.

Mina came in from having been to the showers and sat down on her cot on the opposite side of the tent after drawing the privacy flap back.  “I’ve got good news!” she said with a smile as she passed him a thermos of hot coffee.

Ed sat up and reached across the tent for her gift.  “More good news?”

Nodding, she said, “Yep!  Ba-ba and my brother Rei will be arriving in a day or so.  Uncle Ling said he wants them to formally ask the team to look for any clues about a rumored silk route that passed through Xerxes from Xing to Kruska, which was in an area of Drachma west of Amestris.  If they find any Xingese artifacts, he’s going to pay them double what he already gave them.”  She got under her blankets and smiled at him.  “Looks like you and Ba-ba get to have some adventures again.”

Ed laughed.  “Instead of wandering helplessly searching for a way to get our bodies back, we’re searching for our ancestry and preserving it.  Man, I’d never thought I’d see the day when we’d be tracking down our family tree together.”  He looked over at Mina and winked.  “Good thing we’ve got our little ones helping us this time.  Me and your dad are two old men now.  Need bright young minds to keep our old memories in, now.”

“Well, I hope this brain is big enough for all those treasures,” she said, yawning.  “It’s been a long day, you should get some sleep.  Breakfast is served promptly at seven before it gets too hot to eat.”

They bid each other goodnight, as it didn’t take long for Mina to give in and succumb to slumber.

Ed stared at the roof of the tent for some time, waiting until he was sure Mina was fully sleep.  Then he whispered quietly, “Winry, if you can hear me, I still miss you like crazy.  But I promise you, I’m not going to keep living in that same spot in time anymore.  I’m going to move forward while I go backward with Mina and the rest of the researchers here.  Maybe when it’s all said and done, it’ll be time to join you.  But I’m not going to keep standing still.”

Faintly after saying those words, he heard a faint beeping.  Furrowing his brow, he thought it sounded like the alarm on his wristwatch that James had gotten him for his birthday.  He picked up his back from beside the cot and dug around until he found it.  He smiled, shaking his head.  The time on the face read 7:28, the same day as his wedding anniversary- and it was beeping as if his wife had heard his words and was cheering for him.

He might not have been sure about this when he left his home and family behind, he might not have even been sure once he arrived and found other family to be with, but he was sure now.  He was right where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to do.

“Love you, Win.  Watch my back out here in this damn desert, okay?”  The beeping continued for a few beats more then stopped.

He had her blessing and her promise.  He was going to live on.


	6. Playground Priorities

**Title:** Playground Priorities  
**Author:** Sonja Jade  
**Series:** Brotherhood  
**Word Count:** 900  
**Rating:** G  
**Characters:** Ling/Lan Fan, Mei/Al, their children  
**Summary:** Ling teaches his son and nieces a lesson about humanity, one he learned from Greed.  
**Warnings:** no beta, no time!  
**Author’s Notes:** Part of my Celestial Ciphers universe but you don'pt need to read that to understand this.  
**Prompt:** What it means to be human  
  


The spring sunshine was warm and welcomed after the cold grayness of a long winter. Xing was alive with color, especially in the Imperial garden. Pinks, purples, reds and blues dotted the trees and shrubbery behind the Peony Palace, and in that budding space, a small boy ran chased two little girls with a wooden practice sword.  
  
Ling watched discreetly from just behind a sheer curtain, smiling as his son and nieces played together while the Empress nursed the princess. He watched as Mei and Al's twin daughters Su and Li worked together to confound the prince, and he knew that when his own daughter was big enough to join them, poor Zixin would be outnumbered and outwitted for sure.  
  
But then something happened that made Ling frown. He watched Zixin stop running after the girls to catch his breath, and then the prince shouted across the garden at them.  
  
“As the prince and heir to the throne, I command you to stop!”  
  
Li and Su stopped running and looked back at their cousin, each panting. “What are you talking about, ge-ge?” Li asked. “You have to catch us-”  
  
“I'll get the guards!” Zixin cried, his hands clenched as he pointed the bokken threateningly at them.  
  
Ling stepped out from behind the curtain and called down to his son. “Ah-Xin! Apologize to your cousins this instant!”  
  
The boy looked terrified. “What did I do?” he asked, his fingers relaxing.  
  
“Apologize!” Ling leaped up onto the balcony railing and somersaulted to the ground. Zixin asked again what he was supposed to be apologizing for.  
  
“Your title doesn't give you the right to treat others unfairly. Yes, you are a prince of Xing- but take that away and what are you?”  
  
Zixin thought about it and Su and Li wandered closer to listen to their uncle's lesson. Finally the prince answered.  
  
“If I wasn't a prince, I would just be a little boy.”  
  
Ling nodded. “Yes. And any other little boy would be expected to play games fairly and not invoke his age, clan status, or power of any kind against his playmates.”  
  
“But I thought being a prince was important,” he said, scratching his head. “My tutors all tell me that second to being Emperor, it's the most important thing about me.”  
  
Ling huffed. “Then you need new tutors. The most important thing you will ever be is human. And to be human is to treat your fellow humans kindly and with all the love you would show your family.” He reached out to pat Su and Li on their heads. “And these two little mischief makers are family, even if they are faster and more cunning than either of us give them credit for. But even if they were children in the Shang-Po villages in the city, you should treat them fairly and kindly.”  
  
“Yes, Ba-ba,” Zixin replied. He made his apology and the girls assured him everything was okay and they were scampering through the sunshine once more.  
  
Mei approached him from the back entrance of the palace, carrying Rei on her shoulder. She shielded her eyes from the sun and joined her brother. “Everything alright?” she asked.  
  
“My son needed his priorities straightened out a little, nothing I couldn't handle.” He reached for his nephew. “Need some new tutors for him, though. They're inflating his ego already at five years old. Somehow they made him think being a prince is like being a god, so I came down here to nip it in the bud.”  
  
Mei nodded. “They can't help it, that was the old Xing and how they taught us to be.”  
  
Ling cooed to the baby in his arms, making faces as Mei spoke. Then he turned toward her, grinning. “Remember, I know more than most about the difference between being human and being a monster. It's my duty to pass that knowledge on to as many as I can.” He reflected on the time that he spent cohabiting within his own body with Greed, as well as the older brother that nearly became Emperor instead. It was too late for both creatures when they learned the lesson of love, but he was going to be sure his children (and his sister's children) knew that wisdom from the beginning.  
  
“When people forget how to love, that's when they forget how to be human.” He kissed his nephew's forehead. “When we forget to love, we become monsters, and as long as I live, I will never let anyone around me forget that, my royal children included.”  
  
“Ma-ma!” the twins cried as they raced toward Mei. Zixin hurried over to tickle Rei's tiny toes.  
  
“Ba-ba? Is it time for lunch yet?”  
  
Mei grinned as she patted his shoulder and took her son back from him. “There's a sure sign of his humanity, My Lord! And I'm hungry too, let's see if we can get settled before Lady Fan comes to the dining hall!”  
  
The children ran ahead of her and Ling smiled to himself. They were just children, still learning. But if they could master the virtue of love before arithmetic or reading, they'd be all the better for it. He began to jog to catch up to his family, spying Alphonse from an open window above them waving down. He waved back and said a prayer of thanks to the God of Gods for his wonderful family.


	7. May Mei

**Title:** May Mei  
 **Author:** Sonja Jade  
 **Series:** Brotherhood  
 **Word Count:** 250  
 **Rating:** PG  
 **Characters:** Mei chang, her mother and grandmother, the Emperor of Xing  
 **Summary:** Why couldn't the baby be a boy?  
 **Warnings:** Mentions of thoughts of infanticide  
 **Author's Noted:** These particulars are part of my [Celestial Ciphers](http://archiveofourown.org/series/38555) universe but you don't need to read that in order to get this. (In that series, Mei is born in May, I don't think we really know when her real birthday is anyhow.)  
 **Prompt:** Pre-Canon  
  
  
  
The baby in Chang Niao's arms wailed, face red and her tiny fists balled up and flailing in anger. Niao couldn't care less.  
  
Here she was, thirteen years old, her body warped from motherhood and exhausted from labor, and still in shock that she'd borne a daughter instead of a son. A daughter- who would have to fight her siblings someday for the throne of Xing. A daughter- who would become a courtesan and shoved into bearing some nobleman's child if she survived the Emperor's Challenge. A daughter- who was worth one tenth of a son.  
  
She thought bitterly as the baby cried that if she starved to death, maybe the Emperor would come sire another child, and _that_ child would be a son. A boy would be worth so much more than a useless daughter…  
  
“Niao!” her mother gasped, coming to her bedside and gathering the baby to her breast, feeding her from her own bosom. Her mother slapped her cheek awkwardly. “What's gotten into you?”  
  
“It's a girl,” she deadpanned. “Worthless.”  
  
“And so are you, for letting her cry like that over something she can't help!”  
  
Niao looked away from them, listening as her mother named the baby Mei and nursed her til she fell asleep. Afterward, Niao was taken outside and beaten with a strap.  
  
When the Emperor came to visit, he was beyond pleased. He even held her for a few moments and kissed her chubby cheeks. After that, Niao had no trouble feeding her daughter.


	8. All Mine

**Title:** All Mine  
 **Author:** Sonja Jade  
 **Series:** Brotherhood  
 **Word Count:** 1315  
 **Rating:** G  
 **Characters:** Ling, Alphonse, Lan Fan, OCs  
 **Summary:** One of Xing’s eastern neighbors petitions Emperor Ling to redraw a section of international boundary surrounding the area of an opal mine.  Ling agrees to settle the matter with a game of Go.  
 **Warnings:** No beta L  
 **Author’s Notes:**  Last entry ever for the FMA Fic contest community on LiveJournal. Also, I was corrected on how Go is actually played, but I didn't fix it in the story. We'll pretend it's the Xingese version of Go, which may not be exactly the same as traditional Go.  
 **Prompt:** Open: Bet  
  
  


 

Ling was holding court in the Imperial throne room as he did every three days.  For most of the hours he occupied the throne, he heard petty disputes that could have been settled by a regional official.  Situations such as property theft, slander, even supposed witchcraft and possession spells came before him, but today would be completely worth sitting for five hours in stuffy silks.

“Your Celestial Highness,” his herald announced, “the tribal leader of Bilai, Chief Phurrakhaten, has traveled many miles from the east to discuss the matter of a mine that is shared between our borders.”

Ling straightened in his gilded seat, watching as a large man with a ruddy complexion entered the throne room with an entourage of nearly thirty women.  He wore animal skins and linen, braided leather sandals, beaded necklaces and silver cuff bracelets, and his earlobes had been stretched to the point that they touched his collarbones.  His wiry hair was a golden cream color, while the women he’d brought with him had neat plaits in a dark red shade.  He stood and smiled at the leader of his neighboring nation.

“Chief Phurrakhaten, it has been too long!  I have not seen you since my Dragon’s wedding!” he cried as he called for a steward to serve refreshments to their guests.

“It is good to see you as well, Emperor Ling.  I trust the gods have been kind to you and your kingdom since the last time we saw one another?” the chief asked in heavily accented Xingese.

Ling waved his comments away, returning to his throne.  “The gods will do as they like, with or without my opinions.  But to be fair, my family is healthy and safe and my country is recovering from the stomach illness that swept through this past winter.  I cannot complain, my friend.”  He offered cushions for everyone to sit on while they drank cool wine, but the Chief of Bilai refused.

“I know you are a busy man, this will not take long.  There is a small opal mine that is on one half of my country and one half on your country.  Being that Bilai is so small and has so few resources, I was hoping I could convince you to agree to revise the borders so that we may have the mine all to ourselves.”

Ling pursed his lips in thought.  “I’m unfamiliar with this mine in particular, can someone show me where it is on a map?  Maybe tell me more about it?”

One of the women who arrived with the chief stepped forward and unrolled a map that had been painted on an animal hide.  Bowing as she approached, she said, “It is 120 kilometers from the border of Ganya, near one of Your Celestial Highness’ hunting grounds.  It is a very rich mine, despite its size.  However, once your soldiers discovered it, they remain vigilant in keeping the Bilaians from accessing it, and they do not access it at all, Emperor Ling.”

Ling nodded, his fingers playing with the wispy growth of hair on his chin.  “I could use this mine as well…  I do have a rather large nation to feed, but you certainly could make use of this resource, too.”  He thought for a long moment, asking for the map in his hands as he thought about how to handle the situation.

“Your Highness,” Chief Phurrakhaten began, “Xing is so large and has so many great products it harvests and creates; perhaps the Emperor could find it in his heart to-”

“I’ve got it!  We’ll let the gods decide!  Fetch the Go table!”

* * *

  
Alphonse couldn’t believe that the imperial throne room was so crowded and so silent.  Between the visitors from Bilai and the onlookers from within the palace, there had to be over two hundred people- and not one of them were making any noise.

The Emperor’s opponent seemed to be studying the board intently, deciding what move to make next when his eyes suddenly widened.  Carefully, he moved his pieces into position, checking their placements, and then took a sip of wine to indicate he had ended his turn.

Ling leaned across the Go table, his brows furrowed.  They’d been at the game for almost three hours now, surely a winner must be making himself known soon.  Al crossed his arms and leaned against a pillar as Ling made another move.

“Baaaaa-baaaa!” a child’s voice called throughout the silent hall.  Everyone turned to watch Prince Zixin burst through a heavy drape and hurry past the guards to his father’s lap.  The Bilaian women cooed and grinned at the little boy, only three and a half years old.

Ling turned and held his arms out and grabbed his son, sitting him on his knee.  “We’re playing Go, would you like to watch, Ah-Xin?” the Emperor asked as Chief Phurrakhaten made another move.

“Who’s winning?” the prince asked.

“Well, the Chief is a good player, so I guess we’re both winning right now.”  Ling surveyed the playing field, oblivious to Alphonse’s approach.

“Ba-ba?  If you win, do you get a prize?”

“We’re playing for an opal mine.  Whoever wins gets to keep it.”

Al nearly chuckled as Zixin cocked his head and gave his father a serious look.  “What’s a opal mine?”

Al answered, “It’s a place where special rocks called opals are found.  People use them to make pretty jewels and then use the jewels to make money.”  He knelt beside them.  “My Lord, would you like for me to take him back to Lady Fan?”

Ling shook his head.  “He’s my good luck charm, he can stay.”

Prince Zixin smiled at Chief Phurrakhaten.  “Hello!”

The foreigner returned the smile, bowing his head.  “Hello, Young Lord.”

Zixin got up from Ling’s lap and moved to stand next to his father’s guest.  Alphonse watched him carefully, ready to swoop his nephew up if need be.

“Do you need the pretty rocks?” he asked.

Phurrakhaten showed the prince one of his bracelets, a large opal embedded into the silver cuff.  “This is what one looks like.  And they could help our people quite a bit if we could sell them.”

Zixin bent over and oohed at the rainbow looking stone.  “I bet you could sell that one for lots and _lots_ of money!”  He looked at his father.  “You should just let him have it, Ba-ba.  We got plenty of money.”

Al watched as Ling’s hand faltered on the piece he was about to move.  “Really?”

Zixin pointed around the room at the expensive vases, silks and gilded statues.  “Yeah!  We got lots of things we could sell for money if we needed to.  Let this man have the pretty rocks!”

Al spied Lan Fan entering the room, the princess over her shoulder.  The people all rose to bow to them as she collected her son.  Al was close enough to hear what she spoke to the Emperor as she bent down for Zixin:

“The riches of Xing are more than material wealth.  Let him take the mine.”

Ling gave a single nod.  He then moved his pieces to a place on the board that would guarantee defeat and as Chief Phurrakhaten overtook him on the board, he decreed that he had won the mine fair and square, that he would order his soldier away from the opal mine and have the maps redrawn to reflect the immediate surrender of the land to their good friends and neighbors in Bilai.

Al grinned as he congratulated both players for a well-played game.  When Ling called for a feast to celebrate the win, he grinned even broader.  Ling was never a sore loser, ever.  And food always soothed whatever lingering feelings there may be about his decisions.

Lan Fan was right- having gold and silver didn’t make a nation wealthy.  Having happy citizens and even happier neighbors did.


	9. 新年快乐 (Happy New Year)

**TITLE:** 新年快乐 (Happy New Year)  
**CHARACTERS:** Al/Mei, Ling/Lan Fan, their collective children, OC’s (palace staff)  
**SUMMARY:** The morning of the Xingese New Year heralds the birth of the Emperor’s Dragon’s first son. While the Imperial family speculate whether the boy’s birth is an omen, Mei decides that Rei will definitely not be their last baby.  
**WORD COUNT:** 1,848  
**AUTHOR’S NOTES:**  I wanted to do something for Chinese New Year, and I was really fascinated with the dragon and lion dances on youtube, but I couldn’t come up with anything really (been in a slump lately) so this is what I’ve got. Hope it’s enjoyable, I didn’t beta this.

 

* * *

 

It was early in the morning when Mei’s water broke.  Through their soul bond, Al could feel his wife’s panicked energy as she woke to find herself soaking their bed.  He turned over and sat up, grabbing her hand.

“It’s alright, breathe,” he said quietly, his other hand rubbing her back.  “Don’t worry about the bed, just try to calm down.”

He flexed his _ki_ against hers, soothing her as her labor began.  Eventually, after a long stretch of time had passed into the darkness, she had a handle on the situation.  “ _Go send for Tian, then come back with a cool rag,_ ” she commanded telepathically as she used the breathing techniques she’d learned from her previous labor to ease her discomfort.

Alphonse pulled on enough clothing to get to the door of their garden home and ring the small brass gong that sat on their porch.  Within seconds, a black clad assassin landed in front of him.

“My Lord,” the young man said as he kneeled before Al.

“The baby’s coming, I need someone to bring Tian here,” he said as looked back into the house, listening for any sign of distress from Mei.

The ninja before him bowed his head.  “Right away, My Lord,” and then leapt away into the garden, silent as a shadow and bounding toward the imperial palace.  He turned and went back inside, fetching a stack of cloths and a dish of water before returning to his bedchamber.

Mei was lying on her side, eyes closed and meditating as her contractions began to come.  They didn’t speak as he dipped the washcloth into the water, wrung it out and wiped at her brow and face.  When her pains came, he held her hand and moved with her, anticipating position changes through their unique bond that had been forged on the day his wife had transmuted his steel body to save Ed’s life when they battled together on the Promised Day.

When Tian arrived, she praised the Emperor’s Dragon for his care of Mei, then promptly ushered him out of the room.

As dawn lit the garden, his three-year-old twins woke, rubbing their eyes and asking why their Ma-Ma was wailing in pain.

He took Su and Li and sat them in his lap and explained that their brother Rei was coming, and when babies come out, it’s very painful for the mother.

“Don’t worry, though,” he said with a smile.  “Ma-Ma is very strong and very brave, and after all, she’s already had you two come out of her belly, she can handle one tiny little boy.”

Li’s face lit up into a smile.  “Rei made it in time for the celebration tonight!  He can see the dragons dancing!”  She began clapping her hands while Su frowned, saying she didn’t want to take a whiny baby to watch the New Year’s celebration, because their cousin, the princess Ushi, had been with them last year and cried the whole time.

Al hugged them both.  “I’m sorry girls, but Ma-Ma will probably be very tired once Rei arrives, and that’s if he even gets her before the celebration begins.  You may have to go with your cousins and the nannies tonight.”

They both protested, saying they’d rather see their new brother than watch fireworks and different acts on the palace pavilion.  When Al assured them that it was going to be a very long and very boring wait, they reluctantly agreed to go up to the palace and play until Rei came.

He escorted them himself, taking them to the Empress and sharing the news of his son’s imminent entrance to the world.  Lan Fan and Ling congratulated him, Prince Zixin whooped at finally having a male cousin to eventually play with, and Princess Ushi seemed to not be paying attention as she crawled around the room.

“How lucky that he’ll be born on New Year!” Ling remarked as he picked his daughter up from the floor and offered her a bite of a plum.  “Maybe he’ll be a great leader, being born under the sign of the Rat.”

Lan Fan commented that Al himself was also born under the sign of the Rat, and that he’d been very fortunate in his own life so far. 

“Apart from my childhood, I guess that’s true,” he said with a grin.  He asked if they wouldn’t mind watching the girls while he went back to the garden home and paced around, waiting for his son’s birth.  The Emperor didn’t mind at all, saying he rather liked having a palace full of children, and thanked him for doing his part to keep it filled.

“We may all be changing our tunes when these kids start becoming teenagers!” he remarked with a laugh as he turned and made his way back downstairs.

Mei alerted him through their soul bond that things were progressing slowly, that maybe he should go to his office and call his brother, or go workout at the dojo, or go for a ride on his Ishvalan stallion.  He ignored all of that and instead stayed in their sitting room, listening intently and doing whatever he could to keep Mei calm and assist Tian with fetching anything she needed.

The cold day seemed to creep by, but just before sunset, Mei’s _ki_ suddenly switched from painful endurance to determined action- he heard Tian telling her to push and he got to his feet.  He wanted so badly to go to their room, to watch his son crown and emerge into the world, to encourage Mei in any way he could…

Instead, he listened through their telepathic link to what she could tell him.  Rei’s head was clear, one more push and the shoulders would be out and he would finally be fully in the world. 

 _“It’s almost over,”_ she thought to him, her relief evident in her tone.

He fidgeted, waiting the last few moments until his first son made himself known. He found himself wishing (and not for the first time) that his mother and father could be there with him, wondering what their reactions would be to their second grandson (though the third would be along soon enough), and that’s when Rei’s cries broke through Al’s wandering thoughts and he just listened.

He could feel the wave of relief from Mei as Rei was freed from her body, the relief at his first gasp of breath and his healthy cry.  A smile broke out on Al’s face, one that felt a mile wide.  His son had made it, on New Year’s Eve no less, and both mother and son were healthy and safe.  He saw through Mei’s eyes his red, scrunched up face, a patch of black hair on top of his head still covered in gunk.  His balled up fists waved frantically until Tian securely swaddled him in a soft cotton cloth, and then a warmer blanket.  Mei held him to her breast to soothe him as she quietly delivered the afterbirth, and then Tian began the process of cleaning her up.

 _“Can I come in yet?”_ he asked excitedly.

He could feel her shake her head.  _“Soon.  Just look at him,”_ she replied gently, studying his features in detail so she could telegraph the sight to him.

It only felt like a few minutes had gone by, but when Tian approached him, the sun had already gone down and he was sitting in the dark.  “You can go see him, Dragon-sama,” she said bowing while carrying a bundled-up sheet.  “He’s very handsome and has got quite a set of lungs on him.”

Al thanked her for another successful delivery, asked her to let the servants know to bring a fresh bed down, and to inform the Emperor that the baby had arrived at last.  She bowed and left straight away, and Al retreated to where Mei and Rei were.

Her face was still a little swollen, but otherwise she looked as beautiful as ever.  She beamed at him, seemingly having got a second wind now that everything was over.

“He looks just like you,” she squeaked as she turned the baby toward him.  “Like a carbon copy, only with black hair!”

He sat down next to her in the bed, putting his arm around her shoulders and placing a kiss to her lips.  “Well, I couldn’t have done it without you. He’ll probably have your personality, then.”

She sighed happily, leaning into his grip.  “I am overjoyed to have borne you a son.  I mean, I would have loved another daughter as well, but now we have both.”  She looked into his eyes.  “I want another, as soon as I’m healed up.”

He furrowed his brows, wondering if she was crazy with endorphins after the trauma childbirth.  “You mean another pregnancy right away?  Don’t you think it’s a bit too soon for that?”

She looked down at the baby in her arms, now slumbering peacefully with a full tummy.  “No, not at all.  We waited after the twins because we didn’t know what we were doing and there was two of them.  But we know now, and there’ll be enough space between them that it won’t be a problem.  And I trust the nannies and our family to help.  I enjoy being pregnant, I enjoy bearing our children, and I want to continue to grow our family.”

Al squeezed her, tucking her head under his chin.  “I’ll never say no to you giving me babies, Mei.  I love you and our children more than you could ever know.”

She handed Rei to him when the servants came with the clean bed, and moments later, the Emperor, Empress, and all the children came down to meet the new baby.  Rei was passed from his father to his uncle, then to his aunt, who knelt down to show him to his sisters and cousins.  At last, he made it back to his mother, and Mei asked, “Alright Al, carry us up to the Palace, I wanna watch the lion dances and the fireworks.”

Su and Li began to bounce on the feet.  “You really feel like going, Ma-Ma?”

She smiled at them.  “New Year is my favorite holiday, has been ever since I was little.  We might not be able to stay all night, but I definitely want to see the lions and the dragons!”

Lan Fan helped her pack her underclothes with rags and cloths, then carried Rei while Ling carried Ushi and Al carried Mei, and the children scampered ahead of all of them to the royal balcony where they would both open and view the festivities. 

When the first rocket shot up into the sky and exploded in glittering sparks of red and gold, Rei’s tiny sleeping face grinned in his sleep, and Al ran a finger across his cheek.  Yes, if Mei wanted to give him ten more babies, he’d be just as enthralled as he was right now.  He kissed her and hugged his daughters as the musicians below began to play, and the dragons began to dance.

 


End file.
